Harry

For me, the voice of Harry Kalas is what a Major League Baseball game is supposed to sound like.  As a kid growing up in the mid-to-late '70s, just starting to learn the Grand Old Game and its rich history, Harry and his Whiteness, Richie Ashburn, were my teachers as well as my fellow Phillies fans.  In the days before every sports broadcaster mimicked the ridiculously hyperbolic ESPN SportsCenter style or did their damnedest to look and sound just like Bob Costas (looking at you, Joe Buck), Kalas stood out among his peers not because he constantly drew attention to himself, but rather because he was clearly a fan who enjoyed the game as much as the fan sitting at home watching or listening to him. He just happened to be a fan blessed with one of the most fantastic voices in broadcasting history.

There was probably no one better suited than Harry to be behind the mike through those many years of awful Phillies teams in the mid-‘70s and late-‘80s.  Somehow he made us feel with each new season – with each new game – that this collection of ragtags and oddballs really could just possibly win. And when they did, no one was happier than Harry. To hear him transform from measured professional play-by-play announcer to overly excited fan as a particularly remarkable play unfolded, you could not help but be swept along for the ride. Harry’s voice would rise sharply in both pitch and volume when reciting his famous home run calls: “Long drive! Deep right center field! Way, way back! It’s outta heeeeeere!”  He became the neighborhood boy on the pick-up field trash-talking the opposing team when one of their batters was whiffed: “Struh-Keem-Out!”  And, he was the grandfather figure to many a fan in his later years, happily crooning his wobbly versions of “High Hopes” in an effort to lift the Phillies to one more win.

It's hard to believe today marks 4 years since we lost Harry, shortly before a game against the Washington Nationals.  There was no one like him, and he is deeply missed.

Opening Day!

We're under way, folks! Today opened the 2011 Major League Baseball Season, and all I can say is "Baseball, I sure have missed you!" Never mind the fact that here in PA is rainy and freezing cold, and the forecast over the next day or two says the highest the temperature around here will reach is 51ºF, it's Baseball Season and all is once again right with the world!

The season begins in earnest for me tomorrow at 1:05PM EST.  That's the scheduled start time for my beloved Phillies' opener against Houston.  The 'Stros are schedule to start our old friend Brett Myers, and I'll be overjoyed if the Phils send him packing early.  Never could stand Myers, even when he was here pitching for The Good Guys.  Between his foul-mouthed tirades against reporters and his penchant for domestic abuse, Myers is one of the most unlikeable players in the game from where I sit. Roy Halladay will be on the mound for Philadelphia, ready to begin his second year as the Phils' #1 starter.  So how will he follow up last year's mind-blowing season, including a Perfect Game and a Post-Season No-Hitter?  I cannot wait!

You'll be seeing several baseball-related posts here this season, but if you really want to follow my day-to-day rantings and ravings about MLB in general and the Phils in specific, follow me on Twitter - that's where most of my baseball talk takes place.  I'm @berutt, and I'll be happy to talk baseball with you.

For now, pass me a beer and a dog.  It's just about game time.

PLAY BALL!

Almost Perfect...Again!

Back on March 30 of this year, as a part of my Countdown to Opening Day series of baseball lists, I discussed one of the rarest, most difficult feats of pitching prowess there is to accomplish in Major League Baseball: to have pitched, during the course of one's career, both a Perfect Game and at least one other No-Hitter.  It is so rare and difficult that it had only been done by six pitchers:  Cy Young, Addie Joss, Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Mark Buehrle.

I did not expect that post to become obsolete so quickly, but there is now a need to add a seventh name to that list.  Last night, in the opening game of the National League Divisional Playoff Series, Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay threw a No-Hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, leading the Phils to a 4-0 victory and a 1 game to 0 lead in the best-of-five series.

On May 30, just two months after I posted that particular piece, Halladay took the mound against the Florida Marlins and retired 27 batters in a row to notch a Perfect Game.  Last night, he not only joined an extremely elite group of pitchers by accomplishing the incredible, he did it not simply within a career but within the same season - something no other pitcher on that short list had done!  He also became only the second pitcher in history to throw a No-Hitter in a post-season game (the other being Don Larsen, who threw a Perfect Game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers).

In fact, Halladay came within a hair's breadth of actually throwing a second Perfect Game last night! The only mar on the performance was a fifth-inning walk of Jay Bruce - other than that, Halladay was perfect.

There would have been only one more thing I wish could have been in order to make the game perfect: if only the great Harry Kalas were still with us to have called it.  TBS's announcers are as bland as dry toast, and when they had the chance to speak to Halladay immediately after the game, the interviewer's take on it was, "Well, that was an interesting way to start off a post-season."  Um, how about "historic"? "Astounding"? "Incredible"? Nope, to TBS, it was simply "interesting."  Kalas would have brought out all of the drama and emotion of the moment in a way this broadcast team could never even imagine.

But who am I to complain? I saw history last night, and the Phils are starting off their march back to the World Series with a bang!  Congrats, Roy...and let's go Phillies!

2 Phillies Who Performed "2nd Ever" Unassisted Triple Plays

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

With 2 days left to Opening Day 2010, our 12 Days 'til Baseball Countdown continues with my list of the 2 Philadelphia Phillies who have pulled off the extremely rare feat of completing unassisted triple plays - each of which was the 2nd ever of its kind!

1. Mickey Morandini, 2B, September 10, 1992
In the 6th inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Mickey Morandini achieved the feat courtesy of a line drive off the bat of Jeff Kent. Morandini caught the liner (out #1), and stepped on second base before Andy Van Slyke could get back to the bag (out #2). Barry Bonds has taken off from first base at the crack of the bat, and ran right into Morandini's tag for out #3. This play made Morandini only the second secondbaseman in MLB history to pull off the UTP; the other was Cleveland Indians 2B Bill Wambsganss, who did it on October 10, 1920 in Game 5 of that year's World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers!

2. Eric Bruntlett, 2B, August 23, 2009
By the time Bruntlett achieved his UTP last season, a few other secondbaseman had joined the club. But Bruntlett's play was only the second time in MLB history that a UTP ended a game! In the 9th inning of that day's game against the New York Mets, Jeff Francoeur hit a sharp liner that Bruntlett caught easily as he moved to cover the bag. Stepping on second base to double up Louis Castillo, Bruntlett turned around to find Daniel Murphy trying in vain to reverse momentum and backpedal toward first. It was hard to say who was more surprised when Bruntlett reached out and tagged Murphy for the third out! The only other time a UTP ended a ballgame was May 31, 1927, when Detroit Tiger Johnny Neun became one of the few firstbasemen in history to make the play.

One more day; one more list (can you have a list with one item?) - and then the 2010 Baseball Season is here!

10 Damn Good Reasons to Be a Phillies Fan

In the list of the 20 worst seasons in MLB history, the Philadelphia Phillies appear four times. The only other team whose name appears on that list more than once is the long-defunct St. Louis Browns. The Phillies are a team that one year finished 62½ games out of 1st place, in a 154-game season. This is the team that, in 1964, blew the National League pennant that they needed only one more win to clinch by losing 10 straight games, 7 of them at home. Life as a Phillies fan has not always been a bed of roses. Over the past four decades that I've been on this planet, the Phils have had many a season where cheering them on was an exercise in painful futility.

The Phillies also have always had some of the most loyal fans any team can hope to have. From the joyous successes they have achieved in the past few years to the darkest days of the late '80s and early '90s, the Phillies Phaithful have always been there. Why? Well if you love the game of baseball, with all its ups and downs, its quirks and follies, its moments of exultation and its moments of despair, you can't help but love the Phils - they've seen it all, experienced it all, and have had more staying power than any other club (since 1883). They embody everything baseball is and hopes to be.

Not buying that? OK, then how about, with 10 days to go until Opening Day, I give you 10 damn good reasons you should be a Phillies fan starting with the 2010 season (if you're not one of us already!)?

10. "High Hopes"
The Phillies' version of "Win one for the Gipper." The Phillies' legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas would lead the club and the fans in the singing of this song after they clinched the 1993 National League Championship, the lyrics being perfect for a team that went from worst to first. When Harry left us last year, the song began being played after every home victory, and the entire stadium sings along!



9. The Phillie Phanatic
Named "Best Mascot Ever" by Sports Illustrated and one of only three mascots enshrined in Cooperstown, The Phanatic is the team mascot all other team mascots wish they could be! All the antics your local team's mascot does? The Phanatic did 'em first, and with more personality! Other mascots have come and gone - including San Diego's fabled Chicken - but the Phanatic endures and continues to entertain!

8. Bull's BBQ
As the slugging left-fielder on the great Phillie teams of the '70s through their World Championship 1980 season, Greg "The Bull" Luzinski was beloved by Phillie fans. As the creator of Bull's BBQ, home of the greatest pulled pork and pit beef sandwiches you'll ever find at any ballpark anywhere, The Bull has endeared himself to a whole new generation of Phillie fans. It's a must-visit concession when you're at Citizens Bank Park. And if you're lucky, The Bull himself might serve up your sandwich and sign your ticket!


7. Phillies Tradition
To be a Phillies fan is to be steeped in tradition. The club's moments of glory are ingrained in every Phanatic. Parents tell their children, who learn and recite their Phillies history as well as they do their multiplication tables. Even the youngest generation of Phillies fan knows about - and those who were there can and happily will tell you all about - The 1950 Whiz Kids, Jim Bunning's perfect game on Father's Day in 1964, Rick Wise hitting two homeruns while pitching a no-hitter in '71, the "Shootout in Chicago" in 1979 when the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 in ten innings, Schmidtty's 500th homerun, the Divisional Champ teams of '77 & '78, the World Champs of '80 & '08, the Wheeze Kids of '83 and the Worst-to-First misfits of '93. Phillies fans celebrate these and many more as if they happened just yesterday - it's a team whose history remains alive!

6. Harry & Whitey
Speaking of tradition...being a Phillies fan means honoring the memories of the finest, funniest, most knowledgeable and most entertaining duo ever to broadcast a ballgame. For many a fan my age, the voices of Harry Kalas and Richie "Whitey" Ashburn are what a baseball game is supposed to sound like. They were two old friends sitting down to watch a game and share some stories; we were lucky enough to be within earshot. They brought the game to life on radio, and added to the game we watched on TV. They rode every emotional roller-coaster the Phillies took us on with us - they were the ones in the front car, screaming their heads off at the most exciting points. Ashburn left us in 1997, and Harry passed last year, but to Phillies fans everywhere, they still call the games.

5. Leslie Gudel
For the past 10+ years now, Leslie Gudel has been covering the Phillies (and other sports) for Philadelphia's Comcast Sports. You can keep your Jeanne Zelaskos, your Erin Andrewses, your Melissa Starks, your Hazel Maes...Leslie beats them all! She became Philadelphia's first female sports anchor She knows her stuff, and while she's definitely a fan of the Phillies, she's not afraid to speak up when they screw up. Over her time in Philadelphia, she's become one of the best, male or female!

4. Larry Anderson
Simply put, L.A. is the best color man in the business, bar none. When Whitey passed away in 1997, Anderson stepped into to the booth. He never once tried to fill the shoes of His Whiteness (no one ever could); instead, L.A. brought his own brand of story-telling, strategy explanation, and game description to the booth, and helped us heal from the loss of Whitey without replacing him. Paired with Harry Kalas, L.A. became more confident behind the mic with each season. That he's a naturally funny guy helped, but his love of the game comes through every word, and that is what connects with the fans. Now paired with Scott Franzke in the radio booth, there are many, many fans who wish that we could have L.A. back on TV! I know I'm not alone in occasionally watching the game with the TV muted and the radio broadcast supplying the soundtrack!

3. Charlie Manuel
Charlie Manuel took over the managerial reigns of the club from Larry Bowa in 2004. It took a little while for Manuel to find his footing with the club and for Philadelphia to fully embrace Charlie, but he has proven himself over his tenure with the Phillies to be the perfect manager for this club. Manuel's public style is relaxed and down to earth, and he believes in his players - sometimes supporting them to a point that drives fans crazy, such as his decision to stick by Brad Lidge last year as his closer despite disastrous outing after disastrous outing. But you can't argue with success, and I'd say leading the club to three straight NL East pennants, two straight National League pennants, and two trips to the World Series - winning one of them - is success by anyone's measure.

2. Chooch, J-Roll, The Flyin' Hawaiian, Hollywood, Ra-UUUUUL!, and more
You have to love a team with personality, and the Phils have personality in spades! Just look at the nicknames on the team right now. And what makes this team work is that there are no prima-donna superstars. Everyone plays his role, and they celebrate each other's successes, stepping back to allow each teammate their share of the spotlight. Come on, could you ask for a better infield than Howard, Utley, Rollins and Polanco? Or a better outfield than Ibanez, Victorino and Werth? Ruiz has proven himself to be a valuable captain behind the plate and quite the clutch hitter when he's up to bat. With the addition of Roy Halladay and the return of a revived Cole Hamels, the pitching staff will again be among the toughest in the league. This is a team that's been to the Series twice, and still has its best years ahead!

1. The Phans!
Philadelphia fans may have a bad reputation outside of the City of Brotherly Love, but those of us who live the Phillie-Phan life know that those on the outside are simply misinterpreting our passion for our beloved Phillies! Phillies fans will strike up conversations with you, debate strategy, talk about the old days, whatever - whether they've known you for years or just met you by sitting in the same row. New Phillies fans are welcomed with open arms. The excitement in the stadium is electric, and again, when the whole stadium joins in singing "High Hopes," well, there's nothing better! The fans here are the best - but they are fiercely loyal. (Walk into Citizens Bank Park wearing a Mets jersey if you doubt our loyalty!)

So what are you waiting for? Declare your Phillies Phandom today, and join us in cheering on Your Defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies as they begin the journey back to the World Series and regain the championship!

"We Will Be Back"

Image by Brian Wilson Photography via Flickr

Those of you who know me well know that this is a tough day, on two counts. First, it's the first of the roughly 100 days between the end of one baseball season and the next year's spring training. Win or lose, it's a down time for me. I can watch and enjoy other sports on a certain level, but I don't care about them the way I care about baseball; there are no teams or players that I love or hate the way there are in baseball; the ability to armchair-manage, to argue strategy, to revel in the intricate detail of the statistical minutiae and grand history of the game just is not there in any other sport. People who don't "get" baseball or dismiss it as boring are missing out on an unparalleled joy!

But this year, there is a second reason today is a tough one. The Repeat (capital "R") didn't happen. The debt was not repaid. The Philadelphia Phillies - my Philadelphia Phillies - lost the World Series.

First of all, congratulations to the New York Yankees. They and their fans are celebrating their 27th World Series victory in the history of their franchise. They came to the Fall Classic this year determined and driven, and they played like champs. Though I cannot stand A-Rod or Jeter, I have to tip my cap to their team.

But do note my wording: I didn't say the Yankees won the Series; I said the Phillies lost it. The Phils' two victories, both with Cliff Lee on the mound, were played the way the Phillies played all year: like a team destined for glory, but realizing they better not slack off lest that glory be snatched from them. But for the other four games, the Phils played like a team that could barely be bothered to show up. They were sluggish and unexcited. Their defense was questionable (how can third base be left unmanned on a ninth inning play at the Major League level, much less in the World Series?), their pitching was unreliable (Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge, who both dominated last year's World Series, were horrible in their respective outings this time around), and their offense seemed to be stepping into the batter's box without bats. It was excruciatingly hard to watch, and almost a blessing to see it finally end.

The Phillies are still my team, and though I may be critical of how they played in this Series, I gotta say the past few years taken as a whole have been a fun ride: three straight NL East Championships, two consecutive National League Pennants and their first World Series Victory in nearly three decades (and only their second World Series win EVER) is not too shabby a run. This team has a lot to be proud of. They have surpassed the legendary late-seventies Phillies of Schmidt, Luzinski, Bowa, Boone, Carlton and McGraw. They have already been more successful than any other Phillies team in history, and the team is still young! The core players - Utley, Rollins, Howard, Werth, Victorino - all have prime years ahead of them. The veterans like Ibanez and Lee have at least one or two good seasons left in them. And Charlie Manuel may be the best manager the club has ever had; at the very least, he knows how to motivate this particular team. This run is not over yet!

So, yes, it's a tough day today, but it's not a sad one. In his post-game press conference last night, Manuel said, "I'll tell you something, we will be back. As MacArthur said, I guess, we will be back." I have no doubt they will, and I'll be cheering them along the whole way. And I hope the Yankees will be back, too, for the rematch, and so we can finally repay the debt of the 1950 Series - and maybe make up for this year's as well.

Oops - There Goes Another Rubber Tree Plant!

The Phillies have won their second consecutive National League Championship by defeating the Dodgers 10-4 in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, winning the series 4 games to 1. This is the second year in a row the Phillies have beaten the Dodgers for that title, repaying a 30-year old debt: the Dodgers had taken two straight NLCS titles from the Phils in 1977-78.

Now, it's on to the World Series against the winner of the American League Championship Series, which the Yankees currently lead 3 games to 1. The Phillies are looking to become the first National League team to repeat as World Series winners since the Cincinnati Reds in 1975-76.

Personally, I'd like to see them play the Yankees. The Phillies and Yankees met in the World Series in 1950; the Yankees won in a 4-game sweep. That's a 59-year-old debt that just might get repaid this year as well!

Let's go Phillies!

Phillies vs. Dodgers: Once More With Feeling

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I have really needed this two-day break in the playoffs to catch my breath. The Dodgers/Cardinals, Yankees/Twins and Angels/Red Sox series were each decided in fairly bland three-game sweeps, but the Fightin' Phils really had to live up to that nickname in taking the victory in their series with the Rockies 3 games to 1. The last two games of that series left me wrung out emotionally, what with games going until 2:00 in the morning and leads changing hands right up to the ninth inning.

But the Phils prevailed, and now it's on to LA starting tonight for a best-of-seven series with the Dodgers - a team I have despised from the start of my Phillies fandom. I began following the Phillies as a ten-year-old in 1977. That year, as recounted in Mitchell Nathanson's highly recommended book The Fall of the 1977 Phillies: How a Baseball Team's Collapse Sank a City's Spirit, the Phils won the NL East pennant and went into the playoffs against the Dodgers, and were picked by many sports scribes to triumph and move on to the World Series. It didn't happen, thanks to the team's internal strife and two of the oldest players in the league, Dodgers Vic Davalillo and Manny Mota, who started a two-out ninth-inning rally in Game 3 of that series to overcome a 5-3 Phillies lead. The Dodgers won that game and the next, and the Phillies were eliminated.

A year later, the Phillies again won their division, and again found themselves face to face with the Dodgers. For the second year in a row, the Dodgers stopped the Phillies in four games and again kept them from the World Series. The 11-year-old me decided then and there that I hated the Dodgers.

Last year, when the Phillies and Dodgers met again in the NL playoffs, the roles reversed, and the Phillies finally, thirty years later, saw a measure of revenge. This time, the Phils took the series four games to one, and the 41-year-old me took great relish in seeing them defeat the Dodgers.

And now, the chance exists to fully repay the three-decade debt; to do to the Dodgers what they did to the Phillies in 1977-1978; to, for the second year in a row, stop the Dodgers from going to the World Series. Believe me, I will be rooting a little extra hard for the Phillies to do just that!

Post-Season Baseball!

Image by Brian Wilson Photography via Flickr

We're in the midst of the final weekend of 2009 regular-season baseball, and depending on how your team did, you're either gearing up for the playoffs or turning your attention to football.

For me, this is an exciting time, as my beloved Philadelphia Phillies have won their third consecutive National League Eastern Division pennant, a feat they only previously accomplished in the 1976-1977-1978 seasons. Further, they are the defending World Champions, looking to become the first National League team to win consecutive World Series since the Cincinnati Reds turned the trick in 1975-1976. Those who, like me, are lifelong Phillies fans also know that the joy we feel seeing our team winning is only magnified by the many, many dreadful losing seasons we have suffered through.

I haven't posted a great deal about baseball and the Phillies on this blog this year; my baseball conversations mainly take place on Twitter (follow me: @berutt). However, as the playoffs progress, expect to see a bit of baseball talk here as well - especially if the Phils do well!

I would, however, like to call your attention to a post I made here back in April, on Opening Day, which you can read here. Therein, I made my predictions as to who would win each division and wild card spot. Let's see how I did...

I called the National League like this:

NL East - Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals
NL West - Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card - Chicago Cubs

Hey - 3 out of 4! The Phils and Cards have indeed clinched their divisions, and while the Dodgers are still battling with the Colorado Rockies to determine which team takes the Western Division pennant and which gets the wild card, they have at least clinched the other playoff spots (The Dodgers are leading in the division by 1 game at this writing.) The Cubbies did finish in second place in their division, but their record was just not good enough this year to grab that wild card slot.

It figures I'd do well picking the NL teams - I'm a National League fan through and through. I can watch American League ball, but I have always despised the designated hitter rule. Pitchers should bat. Removing them from the lineup removes so much of the intricate strategy that makes the game so wonderful. That's an argument for another time, though; let's check the results of my American League predictions...

I called it like this:

AL East - Boston Red Sox
AL Central - Cleveland Indians
AL West - Texas Rangers
AL Wild Card - Minnesota Twins

Oof. I got one team for sure - although not in the right spot; the possibility is there to have a second team, also in the wrong spot. The Boston Red Sox are indeed in the playoffs, but they took the wild card slot, not the Eastern Division pennant. That was claimed by the New York Yankees. The Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim, in addition to having the most pretentious team name in all of professional baseball, clinched the Western Division pennant over my pick. The Rangers did finish second, however, so I wasn't so far offbase there. Now let's look at the Central Division, which is still being decided. Cleveland?!? What in the blue hell was I thinking? They're 20 games out of first place, only half a game better than the basement-dwelling Kansas City Royals. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins are battling it out for the pennant, and unless Detroit wins tonight, the potential exists for a one-game playoff to decide the victor.

I also predicted a Phillies - Red Sox World Series with the Phils repeating (an admittedly hopeful prediction!), and that still has the possibility of occurring. The first round of playoffs begins on Wednesday...get your peanuts and popcorn - and rally towels - ready!

GO PHILLIES!

22 - 1

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Boy, this was nice to see!

The Phillies achieved the baseball equivalent of stomping a mud hole in their opponents and walking it dry this evening, defeating the Cincinnati Reds by 21 runs, 22-1! Bookending the attack with a 10-run first inning and a 6-run eighth, the Phils hit four homeruns, including a grand-slam from Jayson Werth. The team pounded out a season-high 21 hits, including a 3-for-4 night with two walks for the finally rejuvenated Jimmy Rollins.

On a night where the Phils were campaigning to have CF Shane Victorino voted into the All-Star Game next Tuesday alongside fellow Phillie All-Stars Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez (even the ball girls were dressed in Hawaiian shirts in support of Victorino!), Shane himself started the scoring with a two-run homerun in the first inning, following a lead-off walk to Rollins. Greg Dobbs added a two-run homerun, and Utley a three-run blast before the first inning was over. Starting pitcher Cole Hamels contributed a two-run double to the opening frame's festivites, marking the fourth time in club history the Phils have opened with a 10-spot.

For the Reds, it was not a good night at all. 5 hits and 1 run (on a Jonny Gomes homerun in the 2nd) were all they could muster, and by the end of the night backup shortstop Paul Janish was pitching. It was Janish who threw the grand slam ball to Werth; Janish gave up 6 earned runs in his single inning on the mound, giving the position player a lifetime ERA of 49.50!

The Phils had not scored this many runs in a single game since scoring 26 runs against the New York Mets on June 11, 1985.

It was especially nice to see this kind of offensive display happen at home this year, where the Phillies have not been playing well. My only hope is that this doesn't foretell another offensive drought - this team has been known to slug out a huge burst of offense like this and then fall dormant in hitting for a stretch. Last year they had a 20-run game vs. the St. Louis Cardinals and then did nothing for a considerable stretch; I'd hate to see that happen again.

Rather, I'm hoping that this game, coming on the heels of a sweep of Mets, is a sign of building momentum that they can carry through the All-Star break and into a successful second half. Regardless, it was an awfully fun game for a lifelong Phillies fan like me to watch!

Check out the box score here.

Howard and Ibanez Playing the Grand (Slam) Old Game

April 28, 1921: Ralph Miller and Lee Meadows.
August 18, 1997: Billy McMillon and Mike Lieberthal.
Sept. 9, 2003: Tomas Perez and Jason Michaels.
April 27, 2009: Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez.

In more than a century of Philadelphia Phillies baseball, today's 13-11 victory over the Washington Nationals marked only the fourth time that the club has hit two grand slam home runs in the same game. The wild game saw the Phillies continue their nail-biting habit of playing behind for most of the game until making the late-inning comeback.

Image by Dinur via Flickr

At first, it looked like it was going to be the Ryan Zimmerman Show, as the Nats third baseman connected for two long, looong home runs in the third and fifth innings, helping put Washington in front 6-2. Ryan Howard batted in the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded, and connected for a blast to straightaway center field that tied the game.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Phillies pitching has been haunted all season by the long ball, and that ghost raised its head again when Nick Johnson and Adam Dunn both blasted two-run homers off of Scott Eyre in the eighth inning, giving Washington an 11-7 lead. The Phils weren't dead yet, though. After plating two runs and loading the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning, Raul Ibanez continued to prove himself to be an outstanding addition to the team by parking the ball in the right field seats to cinch up the 13-11 win.

Neat to see this bit of Phillies history unfold tonight.

On the Passing of Harry Kalas

In my notebook are the beginnings of a post I was going to put together for this blog talking about how the game of baseball and, more importantly, the experience of being a baseball fan has changed since my childhood. Today, the baseball of my childhood truly ceased to be. Harry Kalas passed away this afternoon.

Baseball first became a big part of my world view towards the end of the 1977 season. At the age of 10 I was swept up by the excitement of the Phillies' run for the NL East pennant. I discovered that I loved this game and I loved the Phils. I voraciously read every book my elementary school library had about baseball; when that library was exhausted, I began reading through the baseball shelves at the Lancaster Public Library. In the spring of the next year, 1978, I started buying baseball cards the moment they became available, and studied those scraps of cardboard more diligently than my own schoolwork, learning all the active players on every team. And, either by commandeering the family TV or with the aid of a scratchy hand-me-down AM radio, I watched or listened to every Phillies game. Every single game.

Harry Kalas had been in the Phillies booth for six years by the time the 10-year-old me discovered baseball. Harry's play-by-play and Richie "Whitey" Ashburn's color commentary brought the games to life. They were knowledgeable and professional, but they were also unabashed fans. They loved the game and they loved the Phils, and were never afraid or ashamed to let their emotions show when the team won a big one or defied the odds in a come-from-behind victory. They had a great friendship, and that came through as they shared stories and laughs during slow innings. And, they loved the fans.

For twenty years, until Ashburn's passing in 1997, I listened to them calling games. To this day, Harry and Whitey are, to me, what baseball should sound like. When "His Whiteness" left us in September of 1997, I remember wondering whether Harry would keep going - and for how long.

Keep going he did, never losing a stride. Harry Kalas was among the last of his breed of baseball announcers: a voice that was instantly recognizable and also the envy of anyone who ever has had anything to do with broadcasting at any level. (Joe Buck, who calls games these days for FOX, was once quoted as saying, "If I had that voice, I'd just walk around the house and talk to myself!"), and a style that was often imitated but never quite copied.

His midwestern nasal twang and just-this-side-of-staccato delivery was perfect for some of the classic Phillies names: "MI-chael Jack Schmidt," "Mick-ey Mor-an-DI-ni," "Ma-ri-AH-no DUN-can" and others became almost melodic, and his home run calls were the stuff of legend. You'd hear the crack of the bat and suddenly Kalas' voice would raise in both pitch and volume. "Swing and a long drive, watch this baby!...could it be?...yes! It's OUTTA HEEEEERE!" You felt as if you were riding along on the ball's flight out of the park. Even something as mundane as a Phillies pitcher striking out an opposing batter was given the special Kalas treatment: "Struh-keem-out!"

In recent years, talk of Kalas' retirement would bubble up now and again. He no longer called full games, and he'd occasionally miss a game. But with each new season, Harry would be back, and all would be right with the world.

This afternoon, I was skimming through article titles in my Google Reader when I was caught off guard by an entry from the Phillies Nation blog: "BREAKING NEWS: Harry Kalas Rushed To D.C. Hospital." That was shortly after 1:30. Within half an hour, he would be gone. It was too sudden almost to process. I posted the news - what little detail there was - here and on Twitter, but to say I was shaken would put it mildly.

I never met Harry Kalas, although I did sing along with him at Veteran's Stadium in August of 2002 as he led the sold-out crowd on Harry Kalas Day in a chorus of "High Hopes." But Harry had been a part of my life - had been, to me, the voice of baseball - for the past 32 years. My father said it best in an email to me this afternoon, "...it's as if we have lost a friend." I know that so many Phillies fans feel that way today. That's how much Harry connected with us.

You can read the black and white facts about Kalas' life and career many places. I didn't want to just recite them here, I wanted to try to find the words to express how Harry's passing has affected me. Perhaps those words are really this simple: baseball will never be the same.

Harry and Whitey are back together again in Heaven. I hope I live my life well enough that I may get to hear them calling games again when my time comes.

BREAKING NEWS: Harry Kalas Hospitalized

Word just reaching the wires that legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas was rushed to a Washington, DC hospital aftre being found unconscious approximately one hour ago. No further details at the moment - more to come.

Sources:

http://www.philliesnation.com/archives/2009/04/breaking-news-harry-kalas-rushed-to-dc-hospital

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090413/SPORTS01/90413030

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/sports/20090413_Kalas_passes_out__taken_to_hospital.html


Updates from Philles Nation:

UPDATE (1:41 p.m.): Statement from David Montgomery: “I think it’s serious. Our thoughts and prayers are with Harry.”

UPDATE (1:29 p.m.): Allegedly Kalas was found passed out in the press box at Nationals Park. Kalas recently recovered from heart surgery, missing spring training but joining the team for the season opener.

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Crackerjack...

Image by adamr.stone via Flickr

Two of the four sweetest words in the English language are "Opening Day". The other two? "Play ball!" All four will resound tonight as the 2009 Major League Baseball Season gets underway at Citizen's Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia. My beloved Philadelphia Phillies, defending "World F---in' Champions"(in Chase Utley's words)host the Atlanta Braves in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN at 8:00PM EDT.

This is one of my favorite times of year. The beginning of a new baseball season marks a time of renewal: it is the one day when every team in either league is on equal footing. It means Spring is really upon us (despite the whipping winds and occasional temperature plunges we're still experiencing in my neck of the woods) and Summer is not far away. The sense that anything can happen and anyone could possibly win their division and go all the way to become World Series Champions crackles the air with excitement.

I've just finished one of my annual rituals: each year, during the final week of Spring Training, I re-read Jim Bouton's classic book, Ball Four. Written in 1970, Bouton's book chronicled his life during the 1969 season. What made the book a classic was not only Bouton's surprisingly engaging and conversational writing style, but the fact that Ball Four was the first book to break the code that hung in every baseball locker room: "What you see hear, what you say here, when you leave here let it stay here." Whereas most sports books before this painted the players as heroes, with a flair for the dramatic homerun or near-impossible game-saving catch, Bouton revealed the human beings behind the heroes in all their glory and shame. These weren't role models in the traditional glorified sense. They were ballplayers who spit, swore, got drunk, smoked dope, took amphetamines and chased women. The curtain was pulled back to reveal a bunch of regular joes, not all of whom were the most likeable. You know - like in real life.

Image via Wikipedia

The book holds up today, 40 years later. The names may have changed, the substances of choice to abuse may be different, but you get the sense the clubhouse of 2009 probably isn't all that different from the clubhouse of 1969 in personality or in vulgarity. And that's what makes the book so wonderful. It's timeless, it's funny, it's real. And I have long contended that to call it a "sports book" is to do it a great injustice. It's a book about a guy learning to enjoy what he does within his own limitations and at the hands of the limitations of others. Baseball just happens to be the vehicle to tell the story.

If you've never read it, please do. Were I in charge of such things, I would make it required reading for everyone in the country, despite it's rough language and frank approach. It really is a classic.

As I write this, the 2009 Opening Day game is about seven hours away, and I'm counting down the hours and minutes! For the first time in 28 years the Phillies are entering the season as defending champions, and I would love to see them repeat. I think they have a good chance to. In fact, let me close by giving you my picks for the 2009 season - check back with me in October and see how I did:

AL East - Boston Red Sox
AL Central - Cleveland Indians
AL West - Texas Rangers
AL Wild Card - Minnesota Twins

NL East - Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals
NL West - Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card - Chicago Cubs

I'm predicting a Phils/Bosox Series with the Phillies repeating as champs. OK, it's a combination of prediction and wishful thinking, but it's what I'm going with!

How about you? Who are your picks?